This is a reply to a question posed by Jay Johnson. He has a bitnet address
and our system no longer recognizes bitnet addresses, so I have had to post
this to the entire list even though it is just a message to him.
D.Read

please pass the message on to the appropriate person.
I personally use the second half of a film on evolution of Homo erectus called
Beyond Africa. narrated by Richard Leakey. It is a BBC film, made in 1981, but
has some comparative material distinguishing between communication and
language, some info on signing with a demonstration by Moja and discussion by
Roger Fouts. If the person is interested in culture, this part of the film
comes right after a discussion of Terra Amata, which is an early site in
France, which is complex enough to suggest a need for serious language to
build
and use. The part where I usually start if I'm just using it for language is
at
the termite mounds. The other possiblity is uncut rough footage from Sue
Savage-Rumbaugh called Ape Language: from conditioned response to symbol,
showing Sherman and Austin using language cooperatively, and Kanzi the bonobo
who is becoming famous. This would need a lot of preparation to use with an
unsophisticated class, and is meant to be used in conjunction with the book of
the same name. Hope this all helps.